Katniss Everdeen
Katniss Everdeen (married name Mellark) (58ADD -) is the main protagonist of the Hunger Games ''trilogy. She, with her future husband Peeta Mellark, won the 74th and 75th Hunger Games, and later she became the Mockingjay of the Second Rebellion. Katniss is known for her hunting expertise and remarkable skill with a bow and arrow, which was vital in her survival of both Hunger Games in which she participated. Biography Katniss Everdeen was born 58 years after the Dark Days ended (58ADD) to Mrs and Mr. Everdeen. When she was 4 years old, she became the elder sibling or Primrose Everdeen. In her youth, Mr. Everdeen taught Katniss how to hunt with a bow and arrow and how to swim. Oftentimes he also took her to the Hob, the illegal market in District 12, to trade game. Mr. Everdeen liked to sing, and had a good voice, as the mockingjays that heard repeated his tune. One such tune was ''The Hanging Tree, which told of a deaceased murder persuading his lover to die with him. When Katniss was 7 years old, her mother found her rope necklaces she made whilst singing The Hanging Tree. ''Her mother yelled at her father because of this; both Primrose and Katniss began to cry, since Mrs. Everdeen never shouted - Katniss ran out and hid in her only hiding spot: under a honeysuckle bush in the Meadow neighbouring their house. Katniss' father found her, however, and calmed her down, saying that "everything was fine, only we'd better not sing that song anymore." Katniss had not sung ''The Hanging Tree ''from that moment, until Pollux asked her to sing a song for a propo in ''Mockingjay. Mr. Everdeen's death and aftermath On the October of 69ADD, Katniss' and Gale's fathers among others were "blown to bits" in a devastating mining accident. When the sirens in Katniss' school wailed, there was utter chaos - the response to a mining accident was one of the few things the Capitol could not handle. Despite not being formally dismissed, everyone left the building for the mines, hoping that their fathers were not killed in the accident. As promised, Katniss went to collect her younger sister Primrose, who was "tiny at seven, very pale, but sitting straight up with her hands folded on her desk." Primrose clung onto Katniss' coat sleeve and they both ran to the main entrance of the mine, to find their mother holding onto the rope that kept the wave of people at bay. Despite many miners surviving and returning above ground, Mr. Everdeen did not appear, and by dusk, the Everdeen family had to swallow the hard truth - Mr. Everdeen was "blown to bits." District 12 gave Mrs. Everdeen a small amount of money to compensate for her husband's death, but the money only lasted for a month. The Everdeens were now in total poverty, and Mrs. Everdeen suffered from severe depression. She did nothing but sit on a chair or hide underneath a blanket and looked at something in the distance. Katniss took over the role as head of the family, and did what her mother was too depressed to do: buy food from the Hob, cook it as well as she could and try to keep both herself and Prim looking presentable. One afternoon in January 70ADD, Katniss and Primrose were slowly starving to death. Katniss attempted in vain to sell some of Prim's baby clothes, and feebly passed the bakery where Peeta Mellark worked and lived. Katniss at once felt overwhelmingly dizzy, and attempted to salvage what she could from the baker's trash can. She was shouted at and threatened by Peeta's mother, who threatened to call a squad of Peacekeepers after her - in District 12, stealing was punishable by death. As Katniss put the lid back in its place, she saw Peeta Mellark, peering out behind his mother's back. As his mother walked off, Peeta stared at Katniss as she went to sit against the side of an apple tree behind his family's pig pen. As Peeta was watching Katniss he accidentally let the bread (filled with raisins and nuts) that he was baking burn, as received a beating and a couple of bruises by his mother because of this. On his mother's orders, he gave the pigs the burnt parts of the bread, but tossed the remainder to Katniss. She gratefully walked back to her house, and feasted on the bread and warm tea with her mother and Primrose. The next day, Katniss walked by Peeta in school, to find that his cheek was swelled up and his eye blackened. A couple of hours later, she found Peeta staring at her across the school yard, and dropped her gaze to find a dandelion - this reminded of her and her dad in the woods and told her that she would survive. The same month Katniss also watched as Gale received a medal of valour from the Justice Building, for being an eldest sibling whose father was blown to bits in the same mining accident that killed Katniss'. Meeting Gale After this, Katniss began going to Hob and trading on her own, where previously she was too scared to do so. In October 70ADD, Katniss had been struggling to hunt by herself for about 6 months. She was heading home when she saw several rabbits that were killed by snares. She was going to take a rabbit for herself, when Gale, who was only 14 but "cleared six feet and was as good as an adult", appeared from what seemed to be out of nowhere.